Illinois...

[megpie021]

Perhaps yours are early bloomers. It doesn't hurt to be ready. I had one pullet (out of many over the last 5 years) lay at 17 weeks & another at 19 weeks, but it's a lot more common for them to start at 20-25 weeks. (Unless you have the very large heritage breeds like Orps that can take 8-9 months!) They usually start checking out the nesting boxes & spending some quality time in there. Once in a while, you may get a pullet that prefers to lay eggs in other places- like in your potted plants, behind the feeder, or under a tree. LOL

Congrats on the cute ducks. I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with them. Also glad to hear your turtle issue has been resolved for now.

Cinnamon our Buff Orpington actually still is mostly pale pink haha. Peaches is for sure squatting for me! So I think its just around the corner for her. Husband will win the bet
@ChicagoClucker Arent they though? They are already racing around and like to climb on the heat pad and jump off. Crazy things.

Also the unknown chicken has been ID'd by Ideal as a New Hampshire Red.. Thoughts on that breed?

 

[cavemanrich]

New Hampshire Reds are an offshoot from Rhode Island reds. I don't have that good of an eye to tell them apart. (referring to those SOP I'm sure there is a noticeable difference. ) Hatchery stock probably is similar to RIR hatchery stock, also commonly referred to as production reds. (that is what one of mine is). Hampshires were developed as dual purpose to favor the broiler/meat portion of dual purpose. Can be slightly more aggressive than average chickens. Nothing is written in stone, and most chickens have individual personalities anyways.

 

[megpie021]

That's what I was kind of seeing. I'm worried it will be mean to the polish girls haha. It bad enough the Brahma picks on them. Idk what it's deal is but it's the biggest bully out of the bunch.

Next I am new to this chicken thing question.. The little marans had some poop stuck to it's little bum, not pasted over. But it was stuck to bit of something pretty pink coming out of the vent. Now it's supposed to be a pullet.. But was that likely a little boy chick part? I wrote the other word first but wasn't sure if I could write that hahaha. Anywho I don't know what else it could have been, but don't want it to be our first incorrectly sexed chick either. Give me hope! But be honest...

 

[Justso]

When you are on the top of a page, move down a post or two, look over at the far right near the bottom of your screen, you don't need to go down to the bottom of the page, just look at the lower right corner of your screen. There are two "shadow" arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down. If you click the top one, it will take you to the top of the page...bottom one down to the bottom of the page.

Thanks you're both a big help!

 

[Molpet]

clean off the poop w/ water and

That's what I was kind of seeing. I'm worried it will be mean to the polish girls haha. It bad enough the Brahma picks on them. Idk what it's deal is but it's the biggest bully out of the bunch.

Next I am new to this chicken thing question.. The little marans had some poop stuck to it's little bum, not pasted over. But it was stuck to bit of something pretty pink coming out of the vent. Now it's supposed to be a pullet.. But was that likely a little boy chick part? I wrote the other word first but wasn't sure if I could write that hahaha. Anywho I don't know what else it could have been, but don't want it to be our first incorrectly sexed chick either. Give me hope! But be honest...

clean off the poop so more doesn't stick to it... warm water and a q-tip or cloth ... chickens don't have large bot parts, just bumps.. they bump and grind to mate, no penetration.

 

[megpie021]

Okay. Poop came off with a q tip. Any ideas then on what it was? And it seems just fine this morning. Hopefully this will be the only hiccup. Thank you!

 

[Faraday40]

Okay. Poop came off with a q tip. Any ideas then on what it was? And it seems just fine this morning. Hopefully this will be the only hiccup. Thank you!

Chicks can sometimes get poop stuck to them. Keeping them clean & being watchful is the easiest way to prevent illness. It seems like you have that part covered. A couple times I had chicks that always seemed to get poop stuck while the rest were fine. In those cases, a tiny bit of Prep H (or KY or Vaseline) applied to vent helped prevent poop from sticking. In about a week they were better.

Right now is the season of Mulberries dropping from the sky. (Chicken paradise!) However, the flock tends to overindulge. Besides finding all sorts of blackish poops, I also have a couple hens that get dirty backsides. My English orps have a lot of excess butt fluff, so they require either frequent baths &/or feather trims. My non-orp hens never have those issues.

I mention this so you do not freak out as I did if you find unique droppings. Chickens love a varied diet and with that can come some interesting droppings.

 

[megpie021]

Yeah I didnt know it at the time, but the run was built under a mulberry tree! Ive never seen one before haha. So we have inherited grapes and a very huge mulberry tree. The ducks and chicks have been getting some treats. I ate one. It was bland

The thing that concerned me was that it looked like the poop was sticking to something coming from the vent that was a darker pink than the vent. Its totally fine this morning. Everyone passed the butt inspection. We are waiting a few days to see if they are healthy and then deciding if we are keeping them or not. The ducks are incredibly spunky and its so funny watching them cruise around.

 

[Junibutt]

OK, maybe I need to change something on my end, but I am not getting notifications of activity on our thread. The last notification I have was from NotAFarm, 4 pages ago, which was last Wed. I checked my settings and everything is checked. Is it just me? Do I need to change something?

@Justso wish I had room for a Turkey! Hope the bantam hatch goes as well as the Turkey.

@Faraday40 hope everyone in the family is doing better. Also good luck to you and @Junibutt on the upcoming hatch.

It has been quiet over here besides me having a cracked tooth over the weekend. I lived on Vicodin and Orajel since Saturday. Was able to have he tooth taken care of today. I also did some reconfiguring on my coops and run. I think I love the new set up the best and will post pics after I get some pots planted. I also kept a couple of bantam cochin hens at the last minute, so I could make life easier on myself when it comes to hatching chicks. Glad I did, my bantam has perfect timing! I was thinking, it would be nice to set some SL eggs! Slipped 6 eggs under her and hopefully will get at least 2-3 more tomorrow.

I am not getting alerts in my email either. I have checked all settings and don't find any that says when someone replies to your post send an email message. I guess they got rid of that feature for now.

I am however getting email alerts for private conversations.

 

[Junibutt]

I need help with 2 chicks.

First one- I heard a strange sound from the incubator (Brinsea Ovation) like something grinding and a chick screaming. and then there was blood all over the incubator. Opened to find a bloody chick that I first thought was coming from the umbilical cord but upon inspection it was not the case. Instead it seems like one of his wings may have gotten caught in the fan while trying to jump over other eggs. Have applied corn starch and placed it in a separate bowl in the brooder. What else can I do? Apply Neosporin? Getting more mad at Brinsea.

2nd One- What is the best way to put down a chick. I just don't have the heart to do it. A newly hatched is:

• missing a toe &
• on the same leg, the portion between knee and ankle is missing and the whole foot is facing backwards. Its not a dislocation, its just backwards.

I don't think it can survive like that but miracles do happen. Any other options?